Norther Duke (and key Reach The Beach squad member) Laura passenger pigeoned this report in about her maiden marathon effort this past weekend….RIGHTEOUS!

perfect (adj.): Supremely excellent in quality or nature.

Synonyms: absolute, consummate, faultless, flawless, impeccable, indefectible, unflawed

October in Maine is a tricky thing. Having wed in a record-breaking, torrential rain just under 3 years ago, I knew it was risky to sign up for the Maine Marathon as a first-timer. But as a 40+ year old New Englander, I also knew I could be in for a real treat, and that it was. Clear and cool at 7:45 AM, the weather on the Portland, ME coast was consummately, supremely excellent in nature for the duration of the race. It simply could not be improved upon in any way, and for that I am forever grateful. The course is lovely, winding around the urban inlet of Back Cove for 2 miles, then heading out through the tree-lined streets of the coastal towns of Falmouth and Yarmouth, with a couple of detours for scenic ocean vistas. It’s not too hilly, just enough to be interesting (and nothing like the monsters in Reach the Beach.) The energy of participants was great, the crowds were supportive, and a few spectators pegged me as a first-time marathoner (by my yellow race number) and gave me hearty shout-outs.

My only complaint about the day, aside from the abject misery of the last 4 miles, was the dearth of, ahem, “facilities” for, um, taking care of business, as it were. So, to the organizers of the Maine Marathon, I say: In the name of all that is good and pure in running, for f*ck’s sake, put more port-a-potties on the course!!! Please, just Google the phrase “runner’s diarrhea” and let the results be your guide! I was only two minutes off my target time, and you know why? Because after desperately seeking and running too fast for at least a mile and a half, I finally leapt over a ravine, scaled a stone wall, drew blood on my legs from brambles, found a spot where I was reasonably out of sight of 2,000 people running by on the road, and dug a cat hole so I could finally relieve myself of the pressing burden I had been bearing in my bowels since my last GU shot, then had to scavenge on the decaying forest floor for a reasonable medium for tidying up that wouldn’t leave me itching, chafing, or sprouting mushrooms 17 miles down the road. And once I got back on course, it was at least 3 more miles until the next port-a-pottie. What is *wrong* with you people?!?

There, I said it. I totally recommend this race otherwise, but do beware.

Aside from that one significant complaint, it was all good for the first 16 miles or so. Blue skies, autumn foliage, ocean breezes, great volunteers, adequate water stops. It was heaven. Yes, I started out way too fast, but who cares? I was feeling awesome! Early fall in Maine really can be heaven.

At some point, I slide into Purgatory. The pain creeps in and stays. “OK,” I think, “OK, so this is what the 2nd half feels like. That’s OK. I can take it.” Another mile. And another. That’s OK. I check my stopwatch/heart rate monitor, and although my HR is where it’s been all morning, my mile times are starting to slip. That’s OK. I have a cushion, as long as I don’t have to go on another bushwhacking adventure. I knew 4:05 was ambitious. 4:10 might still be in sight. Another mile. It’s really starting to hurt now. In places I don’t usually notice. In lots of places. In new ways. All at the same time. With every step. In between steps. I’m really tired. I’m really, really so tired, and it hurts so much. I try to find inspiration in my head somewhere. I think of my dad. I start to choke up and can’t breathe well. I change the subject. I pass some spectators, who cheer me on. I look at them and say, “Don’t ever do this.” They laugh.

Somewhere around mile 21, I realize I have been periodically shaking my head violently from side to side like a lunatic, telling myself no, No, NO! I’m not going to stop. I’m not going to walk. I can’t slow down. “Pain is temporary. Regret is forever.” I’m strong. I’ve trained for this. It’s a beautiful day on the coast of Maine, and I’m outside. Look around. Enjoy the scenery. I am going to make it. Another mile. 4:10 is not happening. That’s OK. 4:15 was always my true goal. I can do that. I can do that and I will live. I do not have to stop and walk, in order to live. I will live through running a 4:15 marathon. No, no, no, no, no, I am not going to walk. Just keep going. As the sun has risen in the sky, a few clouds have rolled in to keep it cool and comfortable. The setting is still heaven, but I am in hell.

I hit the wrong button on my stopwatch. I’ve lost my cumulative time. I’m too mentally hopeless to do math at this point, so I have only my heart rate to go by.

Sean meets me at mile 23, to run with me for the last 3 miles. Sweet fancy moses goddamn motherf*cking sh*t jesus mary and shiva this hurts so bad. I say something like that to him. I moan, grunt, complain, plead, groan, and he knows exactly where I’m at because he has done this 5 times. He goads, cajoles, coaches and distracts me toward my goal. Around mile 24 my right butt cheek seizes up, and along with the demented head-shaking I now have an ass-punching tic. I want to stop so badly. Would it be so bad to miss my target time? I feel utterly wretched. But I’m so close. Maybe I can still do it. I hit mile 25 and pick up the pace, but I have nothing left. I am whimpering.

I’ve done some pretty tough sh*t in my life, but never before have I ignored the raging demands of my body to just stop, for such an extended period of time.

Sean leaves me to run the last .2 on my own. “This is all yours,” he says. “You’ve done it. Enjoy it.” Man, am I glad I married that guy.

As I limp across the finish line, I hear my name and town. The race clock says 4:17:something. It doesn’t matter. It’s done. I can finally stop. I stagger through the chute, refuse the space blankets, let them remove my timing chip, bend down to receive the finisher’s medal, and collapse in a heap in Sean’s arms.

My final time is 4:17:00:00. Just 2 minutes off my target. I’m OK with that. I’m finally done, there are no mushrooms sprouting in my underdrawers, and it’s still a perfect day on the coast of Maine.

“At the Primm 300 this past weekend, Sal Fish announced the 2008 Baja 1000 would be about 660 miles and follow this route: Ensenada – Ojos Negros – El Condor – La Ponderosa – Rumorosa – Laguna Salada – San Felipe – Azufre wash – Morelia Jct – San Matias – Mike’s Sky Rancho – Valle de Trinidad – Llano Colorado – San Vicente – Santo Tomas – Ojos Negros – Ensenada.”

I spent time in Baja earlier this year and heard from many people that loop races might be a thing of the past. This speculation was largely based on the growing popularity of the race, both in the number of entrants and worldwide media attention. A loop race (Ensenada to Ensenada) only benefits businesses in the North, while a point-to-point race (Ensenada to Cabo San Lucas) spreads the wealth. A point-to-point race is more dramatic and highlights Cabo which is the biggest tourist draw on the whole peninsula.

If this rumor holds true, it seems loop races are still in the mix, but the most shocking thing is the distance. That’s almost half the mileage of last year! If that proves true, my guess is that the course would be insanely technical.

If anyone hears anything else, please post a comment…

For those who may be in NH and inclined to come out and witness a spectacle, the Dukes are slotted for a 1:20pm Friday start and expect to finish on the coast sometime around 6 the following evening. Check out the course info for the nearest segment of the route & and do come out to properly heckle the teams.

———

In totally unrelated 24 hr racing news, I recently came across another race that would likely appeal to a number of us – the 24 Hours of LeMons:

Each LeMons race is for cars purchased, fixed up, and track-prepped for a total of 500 dollars or less. But before reaching the grid, you’ll have to survive trials like the Personal-Injury-Lawyer Anti-Slalom, the Marxist-Valet Parking Challenge, and the Wide Open Throttle Rodthrowapalooza. Twelve hours into the race, the car voted People’s Choice is called in and awarded a cash prize; simultaneously, the car voted People’s Curse is called in and summarily destroyed. At the end of 24 hours, a gala awards ceremony plies the survivors with trophies, plaques, and four-figure purses in canvas bags full of nickels. What’s not to like?

This video of what happens to a cheater’s car is not to be missed – genius. We’ve already missed the East Coast season’s races, but I suspect you’ll be seeing a menacing DOFB beater entered in the years to come.

We seem to be having quite a mythical year. What’s nhhkjkkjkhxt? Nessie? Bigfoot?

DAY 6

If you have been reading this story up ’til now, you may have the sense that I have a lot of off-road motorcycle experience. I have logged tens of thousands of highway miles, but only ridden a few hundred off-road prior to this trip. Lacking the requisite skills, I’d force myself through sections of the course which really took a physical toll. Here’s where things stood:

I found out when I got back to the States that I was riding with a separated shoulder, torn Labrum and bruised collarbone – injuries from a ride I had taken weeks earlier in Utah. I had trouble opening and closing my swollen hands – they were most comfortable in a clawlike position, a result of holding onto grips all day long. It would take about 15 minutes of exercise in the morning to get to the point where they were useful.

I had developed large blisters on my palms as well as a gash on my right butt cheek that had been rubbed completely raw. I did my best with Vaseline, Neosporin and moleskin to repair the damage. I suffered from any number of bruises and pains, randomly distributed across my 36 year old frame. In short, I am seriously banged up.

Day 6 was just shy of 300 miles, the longest day of the trip. I’d consider 300 miles to be a good day on highways so when you think about doing it in Baja, in those conditions, it’s really something. I begun the day with trepidation, but had managed 800 miles and felt reasonably prepared for the day ahead.

The first section was indescribably beautiful. We followed dirt roads that hugged a mountain for 30 miles. The views were incredible.

Amidst the beauty is a great deal of danger. This particular road had incredibly sharp turns and drop-offs of hundreds of feet. I rode this section very slowly and carefully. I couldn’t help thinking about the Baja 1000 race as this had been a section of the 2007 course. I hard trouble imagining doing it at speed, at night, amongst cars – it really gave me pause.

This road eventually lead to a small town, lined with pristine cobblestone streets and home of the Mission de San Francisco Javier Vigge Bigundo. It was founded in 1699 and the structure was built from 1744 to 1758. On December 2nd each year, thousands of pilgrims flock from all over Mexico to this special place.

The next 70 miles were fast and fun. A sandy road with gravel here and there, big straightaways and wide sweeping turns. This section had tons of water crossings which helped cool you down and added variety. We were criss-crossing rancher’s land so every now and then you’d make it past a home where cattle gathered for water and food. As soon as you saw any sign of civilization, you immediately downshift and stand – looking for cows or donkeys which would invariably be around the next corner.

We would ride staggered in groups so it wasn’t uncommon to be riding alone for an hour or more – you find a natural cadence and really get into it. We’d stop every 30 miles or so to catch up, check oil, get a drink of water.

We then made it to the highway where we met our supply truck. We fueled the bikes and grabbed a bite to eat. In no time, we were back on the road, riding 60 miles of boring blacktop. We then cut off the highway around 170 miles into the day. We ran across some riders from the Malcom Smith group who told us to be very careful on the section ahead. It was Sunday and a favorite local pastime is boozing and taking 4×4′s out in the desert. Be very alert. Look out for cars.

This section lasted around 40 miles and was incredibly brutal. The road was filled with good sized rocks and portions were completely devoid of sand, so you’d come over a hill and be riding across what amounted to chewed up concrete. It was also mentally tough because you wouldn’t see any other riders – I felt very isolated, facing an endless desert ahead.

I was doing my best to keep a decent pace, probably riding around 25-30mph when I struck a small boulder. In a millisecond, I was catapulted off the road, narrowly passing between two large boulders – this is all happening very fast. Another boulder was directly in my path so I cut the steering hard left to get back on the road. The only problem was a large cactus directly in my path. I hit it dead on, causing it to explode into a million barbs. Many found purchase in my right arm. In another millisecond, I was back on the road and stopped. To be completely honest – I was incredibly freaked out at this point. I had come really close to eating it in the middle of the desert, alone and under a hundred degree sun. I rested for a minute or two and thought the best thing was not to overthink what had happened, but to immediately keep going. I desperately wanted to get through this section as it was getting the better of me.

I got the bike up into 3rd gear and everything felt wrong. It seemed like things weren’t clicking. I shifted into second and didn’t feel any better. I tried first, more of the same. I felt that I was starting to lose it, so I sped up into third and decided to grin and bear it. When I caught up with my group about 10 miles later, they pointed out that I had a flat. I had been riding on my rim. In my adrenalin-fueled freak out, I hadn’t even noticed.

We swapped my tire and another for our guide, George. They also helped pull the cactus spines out of my right arm. At this point, I have ridden about 200 miles and am really starting to feel it. We have 100 miles left and are almost to the silt, an infamous section of Baja. Oh dear god.

We hit the silt about 20 miles later. Silt has the consistency of talcum powder – it is incredibly fine. If you hit a patch of silt at speed, your bike will immediately slow down, likely throwing you from your mount. You need to approach with caution and once you are in it, keep the bike in 2nd gear and hammer the throttle. You won’t be able to see anything as you are encased in a fine mist – you really just point the bike in a direction of your choosing and hope for the best. If that isn’t bad enough, these sections aren’t on level ground – they are on windy uphills and downhills. It is the devil himself.

I was pretty burnt out at this point and had a lot of difficulty. I dropped my bike at least 5 times. Picking up a bike over and over is very tiring, especially in this stuff. People say that every time you pick up a bike it adds 20 miles to your day. I’m not sure if that’s right, but I was completely exhausted. One of the guides, Pepe, helped me get the bike into the desert, off the silt – and we navigated a course around it. It was the only way I could get through.

I have now reached a point where I have gone far past my physical limits. I have to lay against the bike while I’m riding – I’m too tired to keep myself upright. It’s scary because you know you shouldn’t be riding, but there are really no options. Keep moving as fast as you can.

I’m riding along at 35mph and about to cross a wash, basically a dried out riverbed. As I’m coming down a small hill to cross it, I catch something out of my right eye in the periphery. It appears to be a truck and I’m going to hit it. I immediately locked both brakes, but you just slide in the sand – your speed doesn’t decrease fast enough. I made a decision at that point to bail from the bike. I simply jumped off. The bike went to the right and I ended up lying on the ground, looking straight ahead. I then saw the tires of a speeding black Cherokee jeep pass directly in front of my eyes, less than a foot away. That one second lasted forever.

I realized that I had come pretty close to cashing out, right then, right there. I knew there were other riders behind me so I crawled off the road to avoid getting hit. I pulled myself up onto a log and completely broke down. I was physically and emotionally gone. I have never felt this way before – there was nothing left inside me. I would never wish that feeling upon anyone.

A guide had been riding just behind me and saw the whole thing go down. He never even saw the truck until it blew by me as I laid in the road. The driver stopped – he was coming from a fishing camp just down the coast. He was as freaked out as I was. I couldn’t even speak to him. I couldn’t speak to anyone. I just sat there.

After 5 minutes, I drank a little water and took inventory. I had to ride at least 30 more off-road miles until we met the truck. We then had 30 miles of blacktop to La Paz. I had no choice, but to continue on. I got back on the bike and got it done. The only way I could get through it was to tell myself that I would never have to come back here and race the Baja 1000. At that moment – the thought of it was simply too much.

I didn’t drive fast, but I got it done. This picture was taken about 15 minutes after the near miss, when I met up with the group and where we recounted what had happened. I didn’t want to talk about it. I wanted to enjoy the view, listen to the waves, be far away. Pepe told the story. Thanks Pepe.

I made it to the truck. And then I rode the highway miles into town. I wasn’t going to put my bike on the truck. Baja may have won that day, but I would ride every single mile to Cabo – I would not let Baja beat me.

La Paz is a lovely town, but I’m far too exhausted to go on – this has been a long post and one that I have dreaded writing. I hope it doesn’t dissuade anyone from going down there and experiencing it for themselves. This could have happened anywhere. When it’s your time, it’s your time. And I may just be crazy enough to go down there next year and do that race. If I do and can get that done, it would be the greatest accomplishment of my life. I have no doubt.

Stay tuned for the final installment…

It takes about 30 minutes to change a front tube and about 45 minutes to change a rear one, and that is by someone who really knows their stuff. The Baja 1000 is a timed race where the possibility of not finishing is quite real. In fact, only about 35% of teams finish the race each year. Each second is precious so you want to avoid flats at all costs.

One thing I heard repeatedly in Baja was that you should run a Michelin Bib Mousse on your front tire and a heavy duty tube on your rear tire. I would nod in accordance all the time thinking to myself, what the hell does a Bull Moose have to do with any of this?

Once I got the spelling right, I found out that it’s “a foam insert that can replace conventional inner tubes in off road motorcycle tires. It is a ring of butyl honeycomb foam with its cells filled with nitrogen. It has a smooth-molded outer skin that is designed to slip into specific size off-road motorcycle tire. Bib-Mousse have a considerable advantage over normal inner-tubes, as they do not and cannot be punctured or burst.”

I have never ridden on this type of tube, but was told that it rides differently than a regular tube. It feels heavier and carries more momentum which can take some getting used to, especially as you come into corners. I have seen some disclaimers that it shouldn’t be ridden on hard surfaces for more than 20 miles at high speed which presents a bit of a dilemma since the Baja 1000 contains longer sections of pavement that connect parts of the course. I guess you grin and bear it. Certainly beats a flat…

Sometimes a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do and, I guess, this is one of those times for our beloved admin, erstwhile coach, training partner extraordinaire and certified master of the grill Jeff. He’s packed up the shop, loaded what’s important and is redeploying to the left coast in search of fortune, adventure and cracked crab. As we all navigate the fog caused by last night’s sayonara wumpus, I’d just like to pause for the cause and give a hearty HUZZAH to our partner in crime.

Fare thee well sir. You’ll be sorely missed but we’ve every confidence you’ll quickly get to holdin’ it down out there and swelling the ranks of the Dukes West Coast Chapter. Write when you get work and we’ll come inspect your beachhead.

Vaya con dios y un gato en tu pantalones Amigo.
-mismanagement

DAY 5

I’d wake up in Baja every morning and think about the day ahead, having peppered our guides with questions about the course the night before. I’d think to myself, “I’ve made it through some pretty hairy stuff, I doubt I’ll see anything today that isn’t at least familiar”. This was important because different terrain requires different riding styles. My biggest fear wasn’t getting hurt, it was that I’d encounter something that I couldn’t get through. By this time, I had three solid days of riding behind me and was feeling more comfortable, but I was really starting to feel the miles. I was taking 800mg of Ibuprofren every morning and every night, and had to use pliers to get my boots off because my fingers lacked the strength. I am halfway through the trip.

Day 5 started out like any other day, 5:30 wake-up call and on the road by 7. It was pretty standard fare at first, gravel roads that would tolerate high speeds.

This gave way to incredibly long stretches of straight road that seemingly went to the end of the earth. I was on a rare section of blacktop in top gear, really hammering the throttle. I couldn’t tell what was going on ahead, but it seemed like something was obstructing the road. As it turned out, the road was out and there was a short detour. It was no big deal, but I couldn’t help think about that same situation at night. Running at 90 or 100mph, that type of hazard could really ruin your day.

The terrain became a lot more sandy which was usually an indication we’re getting close to water. That was true, but what we encountered was a dried lake bed. I can’t remember the name off the top of my head, but it’s a famous part of Baja – reminds me of the Bonneville Salt Flats. Perfectly smooth, hard packed sand. We were all kids in a candy shop. You could drive balls out with no fear. A few guys were expert at riding wheelies and I have some amazing video of them going around 60mph. Will post. Incredibly fun stuff. A lot of these flat sections would be connected by deep sandy areas so you were constantly switching your riding position, but it was easy enough and satisfying. The day was really flying by and lunch was just ahead.

We stopped at San Juanico (a/k/a Scorpion Bay) to get gas at a makeshift station. This was typical of these remote areas.

And then I saw Scorpion Bay. The “town” if you can call it that, sits atop a bluff looking down at amazing surf break. One was literally the best place to learn to surf in the world. 3 foot tall waves, perfectly spaced that you could ride for 5 minutes straight. You could even walk to the break! Are you kidding me?

Just down the beach was a bigger break so it literally had something for everyone. Truly a magical place. We grabbed Shrimp burritos at the local restaurant and had an hour to relax, catch some rays. If I hadn’t been wearing so much gear, I would have stripped down and jumped in the water, but was content to find a patch of terra firma and let my mind wander.

The best day ever, but Baja has a way of flipping the script. We were crossing the Continental Divide later that day so I expected some pretty rocky technical riding and Baja delivered. It started off on nasty, rocky roads with sharp turns and steep drop offs. It was really brutal stuff. It was here that we encountered our most serious bike issue. George, one of the guides, looked down to see oil pouring out of the side of his bike. One of the gas tank mounts that was welded to the frame had broken off. It left a hole in the frame that also served as the oil reservoir. Big problem.

We took the whole bike apart and left with few options, patched it up with some JB weld and duct tape. We had a quart of oil on us so that and the duct tape had to hold for 70 miles, and hold it did. Amazing.

We then hit the most technical section of the course. I don’t have any pictures because when you’re in this stuff, you’re just trying to get through it. You’re not dicking around, snapping pics. The worst sections were little more than a field of boulders. I was having trouble imaging how a car could ever get through it and then encountered a truck doing just that. Wow. I’d guess it took me about 2 hours to get through 15 or 20 miles of it. Towards the end, I felt pretty comfortable, but was completely exhausted. Just another lesson courtesy of Baja.

With the hard part behind us, we blazed into Loreto which is an amzing border town.

After a quick dip in the pool and a few beers, I could start worrying about Day 6 which was the longest and most difficult day of the whole trip.

Read Part Six 

I wore this rig while riding 1,230 miles from Ensenada to Cabo San Lucas and wanted to share my thoughts. First of all, $140 is not a lot of money for shoulder, elbow, forearm and back protection, not to mention an integrated kidney belt. The price is definitely right. The various components are connected by a fine mesh undersuit so it’s easy to keep track of everything and put on. I was concerned that the suit would be hot, but I never felt uncomfortable riding with it on, even in 100 degree desert heat. I took quite a few spills during that trip and the suit did a fantastic job of protecting my upper body. During one particularly hectic moment, I came off the course and blew through a cactus going 30mph. I don’t know if you have ever driven through a cactus on a motorcycle, but they explode. No shit. This one sent spines that completely covered my right arm. If I had just been wearing a jersey and elbow guards, I would have been in a lot of pain – the Thor Impact suit bore the brunt and really saved the day.

Now for the cons. I wear a Leatt Neck Brace which wants to be underneath any chest protection.That’s not really possible using the Thor Impact Suit – it needs to be on the inside. I’m not sure if this negates the utility of a Leatt neck brace, but definitely made me wonder. As well, it comes with an integrated, removable kidney belt. The problem is that the belt zips in on both sides. When you tighten the belt, it puts pressure on those zippers which slowly come undone. After 20 miles, one or both sides of the belt will come unattached and ball up in your jersey. It’s incredibly annoying and renders the belt completely useless. If you do pick one of these up, zip the belt out and throw it away. Buy yourself a regular kidney belt that wraps all the way around your body, affixes with velcro.

In all, I heartily recommend the Thor Impact suit. It’s a great value and works well. Just be careful if you use a Leatt neck brace and make sure you buy a kidney belt if you’re going to ride long, or ride whoops.

DAY 4

We left Bahia De Los Angeles before 7:00AM, standard operating procedure most days.

There were a lot of riders (~80) staying in the same town, taking part in a Malcom Smith Charity Ride. We tried to get the jump on them, but ended up riding with them most of the day. At one of our first stops, I saw a bike with a 1x number on it. I was naturally curious and as it turned out, it was Malcom Smith himself. Our paths crossed many times over the course of the trip – a real pleasure.

The roads for the first half of the day were pretty rough, but you could travel at a fast clip – I’d guess around 60mph.

The drill was finding a clean line around any particularly large obstacles (rocks) in your path. This was a road where a steering dampner would have been exceedingly useful. It’s fast, but it wears you down and you get a lot of flats. We got 2 of them about 50 miles into the day. The second one was particularly nasty as a portion of the tire had been torn off, exposing the ruptured tube underneath. You don’t carry spare tires, just tubes, so this presented a bit of a challenge. The first step is getting the bike up on a ‘stand’ and removing the rear tire. We made a stand out of rocks, something Baja has plenty of…

We wanted to provide some protection for the new tube given it would be exposed to the road, so we took the tube that has just ruptured, sliced in half around the axis to use as a protective insert.

We then placed the insert into the tire, then placed the new tube in front of it.

The end result was pretty sketchy and it needed to last 160 miles until we could get a replacement wheel. Much to my surprise, it did and was just one more story of getting by in Baja with what you have.

The road continued over mountain passes, got rougher here, easier there, before finally giving way to the coast and our lunch stop at Porta San Francisquito.

This was on the Sea of Cortez so the water was quite calm, very peaceful. We bought a little gas, ate some delicious tacos and I managed to get my picture taken with Malcom Smith. For those of you that don’t know, he won the first Baja 1000. This guy is the real deal. A living legend.

After lunch, we had at least 120 miles ahead of us so we took off at a fair clip. The roads were decent so we made really good time. We even managed to stop and climb up into a cave to see some petroglyphs. The view of the surrounding country was beautiful and shows just how desolate the landscape is.

This was the view inside the cave

I almost forgot! One of the more experienced riders on our trip was tearing along a narrow, twisty road that lead to the cave. This road was lined by very large cacti that were encroaching on the road. He whipped around a corner and an arm of a cactus knocked him completely off his bike, sending cactus spines deep into his right knuckle. Not a serious accident, but brutal in its own right.

Towards the end of the day, we had a long section that was reasonably safe to completely open up the bike. I had a race exhaust on my machine so I’d guess it could get up to around 90 to 100MPH. Even with a reasonably smooth, sandy road – this can be a bit trippy, although quite enjoyable. We then hit blacktop and rolled into San Ignacio which was an oasis in the middle of a desert. In all, I’d say this was one of the easiest and most fun days. I was beginning to get really comfortable on the bike and thought I could handle pretty much anything Baja had to offer – that wasn’t quite true.

Read Part Five 

DAY #3

This was going to be our 2nd longest day, around 250 miles, so we got up particularly early to get a head start. Things started to go wrong immediately. We had two rear flats that needed to be changed before we even got out of the parking lot, delaying us by about an hour.

We finally got off around 7:45 or so, wearing jackets as it was a cold, damp morning. The first section were rocky dirt roads through rolling green hills, shrouded in mist. You could run at decent speeds, but had to be on the lookout for rogue boulders. The bikes didn’t have steering dampners so when you hit something big, the front fork would completely twist and if you were sitting down, you’d get thrown into the front of the bike, possibly going down. This often resulted in a superman, both legs completely off the pegs, outstretched behind you. It’s a little unnerving at first, but you learn to hang on and regain your composure. Gotta keep moving.

We then hit a rocky technical section that criss-crossed craggy mountains. This was my first technical section and it took a while to get used to the punishing terrain. When in doubt, get the bike in first gear, stand on both pegs and find the cleanest path. When you’re riding through what amounts to a field of boulders, that can be tricky, but it does work. I dropped the bike a few times during this section and lost my SPOT Satellite Messenger. The drill in Baja is to conserve your equipment and energy, so dropping the bike a few times early in the day can really wreak havoc towards the end of that day.

We came out of the technical section and hit my favorite part of the whole trip – a fast winding, dirt road that dissected a cactus forest. First of all, I’ve never heard of anything like that before, but it’s exactly what it sounds like. Around 50 miles of 20 ft tall cacti. It’s hard to describe just how beautiful that is…

Since the road was decent, that meant traffic. Nothing like coming around a corner at 60mph and staring at the front of a pick-up truck. Happened a few times on this section, so you tried to stay on the right, but you really needed the whole road. You have to stay alert at all times. I ran across a cowboy on a horse around this same time. He signaled for me to slow down. I stopped and he pulled a rattlesnake out of his bag – just wanted to show me. It would be crazy if that type of thing wasn’t so common in Baja. In retrospect, I almost hit every imaginable animal in Baja. On this particular stretch, I kept having to dodge 5 foot long, jet black snakes that would wind across the road. You have to be careful because you don’t want to go over them and accidentally throw them up onto you. Surreal stuff.

After a quick lunch, we rode a punishing 10 mile stretch and got to a famous stop called Coco’s Corner.

Coco’s corner is a free campground and favorite destination of racers. It’s run by a colorful gentleman named Coco (see below). He gets by selling soda, water, t-shirts and hats. He moved out years back after he lost a leg to diabetes. When I was there, he seemed particularly animated. He said it was because he was trying to keep his mind off of the next day. What’s happening tomorrow? “They are taking my other leg”. Man, that is really tough. I hope he’s OK. If anyone has been there recently, I’d appreciate a report back on his condition.

Everyone that comes to Coco’s is asked to sign his guest book. It’s filled with travelers from all over the world. He asks for your name, hometown and type of vehicle you’re riding. Coco’s then decorates the pages with photos from magazines or draws illustrations. The books are beautiful in a Baja way.

After fixing another flat, we road some rough winding gravel roads that criss crossed mountains. This eventually gave way to a long section of rutted, dried out dirt ‘roads’ that felt more like chutes. It felt like driving in some type of medieval pinball machine. We were about 220 miles into the day and I’ve never been more tired. I was leaning up against the front of the bike as I was riding, trying to rest a bit. All the result of a rough morning. I was cooking along at around 30mph, came around a corner and launched off a 6 foot drop. The front end of my bike completely bottomed out, giving me a real shock (and scare), but I never left the bike – just one near miss of a 1,000 over the course of the week.

Towards the end of this section, we were told we’d hit the most famous whoops in Baja. If you don’t know, a whoop is like a mogul or speed bump. There are sections that have serious whoops for 40 miles straight. You have to stand and timing is everything. It is exhausting work. The section was only a mile or two long, but the whoops were about 5 feet tall and were very deep sand. You have to stand, lean back and hammer the throttle to keep momentum. You don’t have a lot of control in these situations, you just point the bike and hope for the best. I made it through about a mile of this section, falling a few more times. Lifting a 300lb bike repeatedly in sand kills you. It got to the point where I knew I wouldn’t be able to lift the bike again if I fell and it would be swallowed whole. I had nothing left in my tank. Absolutely nothing. I had no choice but to pull off into the desert and find another way through the cacti. Another Baja lesson – you don’t have to stay on the course, you just need to get through it. Find ways around problems. Save your equipment. Save your strength. Keep moving.

We finally made it to blacktop and had 30 miles to get into Bahia De Los Angeles. At this point, it’s getting dark and very few of us had tail lights or headlights. We ended up driving in packs, bikes closely gathered around whichever bikes had a small functional light. We almost hit a pack of donkeys going 50mph on a blind curve – man oh man. Must keep alert. We finally pulled into out hotel in pitch black darkness. We sat around drinking Pacifico, talking about one of the craziest days I’ve ever had in my life. Little did I know it was just the beginning. After the best fish taco I’ve ever had, sleep came hard and it came fast. The view below is from my room the next morning at 6AM – the Sea of Cortez. Read Part Four

Read Part Four

DAY #2

Each morning started around 5:30. We had a quick breakfast and were on the road by 7:00 AM. We had to drive 30 miles of blacktop to get outside of Ensenada and start our off-road voyage. The first day was by far the easiest terrain and we only covered 170 miles. The first leg was winding dirt roads – we were really blazing, getting comfortable on the bikes. It rained a lot this year so the countryside was uncharacteristically green.

As we approached the coast, the terrain became more rocky and sandy – a constant theme. The roads were a little rough, but the biggest hazard was the amazing scenery. You’d come around a corner, get a panoramic view of the ocean just as you hit a difficult patch. The scenery was like a siren song at times, luring you to make a mistake.

We continued along the coast the whole day, running through little towns. I believe this is a typical section of the Baja 1000 course. At one point, we were on a narrow road lined by barbed wire and had to pass 4 horses that weren’t terribly fond of our engines. It was honestly surreal – dangerous, but somehow under control. You come to know that Baja is lousy with animals – those and vehicles are your biggest concerns as you rip along in remote areas. This was where I got my first flat – again a constant theme in Baja. A guide changed it out as I assisted, an old folding chair serving as a stand. Another lesson: you have to make do with what you have or can find nearby. It’s all you’ve got.

We continued to follow the coast and came across a pretty amazing sight, an old tanker that had run aground and left to rust. The landscape truly is alien.

We left the coast and headed inland towards some mountains. We were making good time so we decided on this side trip to get a view. I was pretty exhausted by the time we got to the top, but it was well worth it.

It was getting late in the day so headed to our hotel. We stayed at the Desert Inn in San Quintin. They operate a chain of hotels throughout Baja and they were all excellent – heavily recommended in case you are planning your own trip. After a quick dinner and a few beers, I was sleep by 8:45 to get ready for Day three…

Read Part Three

DAY #1

I met up with my Chris Haines group in San Diego. We loaded our gear in the van and were driven down to the Mexico border, and then 100 miles down the coast to Ensenada. You know you have gotten to Ensenada when you see a Mexican flag flying that’s as large as a football field. This picture hardly does justice. The flagpole is probably 25 feet in diameter.

I have heard bad things about Ensenada, namely that it’s little more than a commercial fishing town, but I really enjoyed myself there. One highlight was a fish market that is directly across from a row of seafood joints where we you can grab a quick ceviche, whatever floats your boat. This stuff is fresh, right off the boat.

The main drag in Ensenada is the starting line for the Baja 1000. The race follows pavement for a few blocks then drops down into a drainage ditch where the racers speed out of town.

It’s hard to imagine 850hp trucks blowing through these tight, densely populated areas, but that’s the thrill of the Baja 1000. As Sal Fish says, “it’s not for wusses”.

After a great dinner in town, we checked out a famous bar named Hussongs. Legend has it that this is where the Margarita was invented in 1941. Not sure about that, but the bar has been in continual operation for 110 years and feels like the set of a Western. An amazing place where you can get a few cold ones, meet some people, listen to live music. A real honky tonk joint…

After a couple of cool ones, we retired to prepare for our first ride down to San Quintin.

Read Part Two 

Each year, Malcom does a big charity ride down in Baja to raise money for children’s charities. I just happened to be down at the same time, riding many of the same roads. Our paths crossed a number of times, but I got this great picture in Porta San Francisquito. It was a real pleasure meeting a living legend and I found his charity work inspirational. A lot of people don’t take the time or initiative to give back – Malcom does.

The Front Brake Must Be Used With Caution: For those of who have spent a lifetime on street bikes, this one’s pretty tough. On a street bike at least 80% of your braking power comes out of the front end & I know some folks who’ve probably never even used the rear set. Dirt bikes, however, are different. First and foremost, there’s little in the way of a traction coefficient on sand or dirt. If you hit the brakes they lock and you’re sliding. While the front disc remains the more powerful of the two brakes, as it has greater capacity to slow rather than lock, the nature of the terrain adds far more variables to the equation. Long story short, until you master some of the more formulaic braking techniques, front braking has a tendency to make the bike duck/tuck the front end which leads to immediate instability. As a result, speed in loose pack, especially downhill, is best controlled with a combination of engine breaking/clutch feathering and rear breaking.

Riding MX is All About Legs and Core: The key to good riding, (and by that I mean keeping the tires down and the plastics up), is rapid weight redistribution. Everyone has different styles but I find that the best way to do this is to spend the majority of time standing on the pegs. Standing allows you to more rapidly react to the forces that are acting on the bike as a result of uneven terrain; especially at speed. Keeping your weight deep in your heels further helps keep your center of gravity low and your chassis glued to the machine rather than rocketing through the air with every bounce. Standing on the pegs for long periods, and essentially acting as a human shock absorber, requires serious leg and core strength.

Acceleration is the Solution to Most Problems: Acceleration on loose terrain (sand, soft-pack, talus) = traction. In almost any situation, whether coming into a sand turn, climbing a hill of fractured shale or negotiating single-track, a firm grasp on the surface is what you’re lookin’ for. It’s sort of like driving at speed on slipper snow. Counter intuitive as it may feel, giving it the juice seems to be the best way to get out of situations that are heading south.

Weight forward on turns: Turning in sand,  gravel or on a steep dirt incline is sketchy business. Your natural inclination is to sit back and try to force the handlebars around the turn. What you really want to do is try to put as much weight as possible on the front tire to ensure it tracks tightly around the corner. In sand, gravel etc. the easiest way to do this is by sliding way up front on the bike so your humping the tank and then use your inside leg as an outrigger as necessary. On the steeps it’s easiest to stand and then force your weight forward onto the bars.

Air time Is Good Time: Can’t be afraid to air it out. On the whoops – just gas it till your bounding across the tops. In the pits/dunes…well, try to keep your weight as centered and let’er rip.

For more riding tips, check out Dirt Rider. Man this shit is fun!

Here’s a description of the unit from that site:

“IriTrack satellite monitoring is a new system which enables you to benefit from enhanced safety and is a real communication tool. It enables real-time monitoring of positions and tracking of competitors, thereby making it easier to follow the race.

The system responds to most situations which require vehicles or participants to be monitored in all parts of the world, including those not covered by telephone networks as in the desert. Clearing any doubt by voice phone questioning, alert following a violent shock, automatic transmission of alarms to the PC, satellite telephone, etc… a host of options making the system an indispensable tool.

IRITRACK and your safety

IriTrack enables you to transmit qualified information to the race PC in real time. If you come up against a problem, you can be pinpointed by the organization whom you can speak with remotely.

Fields of application are as follows:

* Triggering or requesting emergency help in case of a serious incident (you or another competitor).
* Signal a distress situation which might prevent you from continuing / or compromise your health.

With two possible modes:

* Transmission of an alarm and/or telephone contact with the race PC
* Automatic: if a brutal shock or a prolonged halt of the vehicle is detected, the system transmits an alarm message to the race PC indicating the competitor’s GPS position. With the telephone function, the race PC may contact him without any action on his part (automatic receiver pick-up and inbuilt microphone) to establish dialogue.”

This device will also allow SCORE to monitor a team’s speed on paved sections of the Baja 1000 course which is limited to 60mph.If you exceed that speed, your team receives a time penalty which could affect your standing or worse, your ability to complete the race in the alloted time.

These units are available for rental and for sale – I guess we’ll figure out what option makes the most sense. One big question: where the hell does this thing go on a bike?

Good discussions about this issue on baja.net forums – read the thread.

If you haven’t seen it, check it out. Also, visit the DOFB Racing section.

We were headed due West into a blinding, setting sun. I couldn’t see and slipped out of the rut I was driving in. When things go wrong, they go wrong quickly. In a split second, the bike was down and I was lying on my right side. I was only going around 20 MPH, but the impact was intense. I took the force of it on my right shoulder and head. My head was fine, but my shoulder was seriously bruised. It’s been a week and I feel like I was in a car accident. My shoulder is incredibly weak and sore. The long and the short of it: typical chest protection does very little to protect your sides or shoulders.

That was all I needed to explore other options. I’ve settled on a more comprehensive solution by Thor called an Impact SE Rig. It has chest protection and an articulated spine, along with shoulder caps, elbow guards and forearm guards. It even has a built in kidney belt which is a must when riding whoops.

There are a number of these systems out there by great manufacturers like Fox, Axo, EVS and Six Six One.

I decided to start with a K&N 77 Series High-Flow Air Intake System. It’s a cheap way to add 10hp to the truck and the design is resistant to dirt and sand. Let’s all take a deep breath together.

I tried this functionality out for the first time on our Utah training run. My biggest mistake was putting the unit in a padded pocket deep inside of my Camelbak. Without a clear line of sight, this unit only works intermittently. I expected to see hundreds of waypoints, but only clocked 37 over the course of three days. Stupid is as stupid does. On our next training run, I’ll affix the unit to the outside of the backpack. I expect this will solve the problem and I’ll be able to see an accurate reflection of the course I travelled. It was cool to check out the waypoints we did capture in Google Earth. Take a gander…

I’m happy to report that we all survived the first training run. Most of us have a ton of road experience, but much less time riding off-road so this was literally a ‘crash course’. We rode around 150 miles over three days, spending time on a variety of terrain: roads, double track, single track, washes, river beds, silt beds, shale, gravel, dirt. You name it, we rode it.

Big props to Jesse Kimball who hosted the event and was our fearless desert guide. This was an incredible step towards our goal of completing the 2008 Baja 1000. It really put everything in perspective – we’re going to need a lot of riding time and will redouble our efforts in the gym, running, biking, whatever you got. This race is going to require absolute dedication.

I’ll post a few pics here, but check out this photo gallery and this photo gallery. Around 100 pictures in all. Great stuff. I’ll also follow up with a gear review in case it helps anyone out with similar pursuits. Enjoy!

April 26 – Brooklyn Half-Marathon, Brooklyn, NY

May 18th – Bay to Breakers 12k,San Francisco, CA

June 21 – Shelter Island 10k, Shelter Island, NY

July 13 – Montauk Point Lighthouse Sprint Triathlon & Relay, Montauk, NY

August 23 – Queens Half Marathon, Queens, NY

September 6 – NYC Hash House Harriers Red Dress Run XI, New York, NY

September 14 – Staten Island Half Marathon, Staten Island, NY

The Half-Marathons are pretty standard, but you’ve gotta get fired up about the Bay to Breakers and the Hash House Harriers Red Dress run. Both of these races require liberal doses of foolishness and skullduggery. The Hash House Harriers probably say it best – they are a drinking club with a running problem. On on!

Bay to Breakers

Hash House Harriers Red Dress Run

Warren Lovelace                            Adrian Lovelace

“I have been training hard. Ate shit going about 50mph last Thursday. Another concussion, and a trip to the ER. Overall feeling good. My knee is out of commission for a while, but should be in good shape by the end of the month. I am going to have to get some of those knee braces and a good steering stabilizer.”

I couldn’t ride this past weekend so I decided to go to California for some fun that did not involve the use of my legs. I have attached some photos.

Awesome pics….damn guy is killing it! Heal that knee man – we’re commin!

There is also a line of Vintage Jerseys – have to love the Bultaco and Maico ones.

There don’t appear to be too many options in this realm – you are either looking at standard knee protection or a pretty advanced system. I’ve read up on custom-made CTI braces that costs around $1,400. Zoinks! Luckily, CTI started a sister company named Asterisk to produce a more affordable line specifically geared for athletes. By affordable, we’re talking about $600 (available online for $550), but it seems like a small price to pay if it helps me finish the race and in the case of an accident, prevents hyper-extension and soft tissue damage. I’m going to test these out in a few weeks and will give everyone a full report. If you have any first hand knowledge, please leave a comment. I’d certainly be interested to hear…

“I am attaching some photos from my ride tonight. Lots of mud and lots of fun. I am also sending some pictures of two pieces of equipment that saved my ass. I took a digger right into a lava rock with my head. My helmet took the brunt of the force, but the Leatt neck brace is what saved my neck. I hit hard enough to have sore spots on my shoulders from the Leatt neck brace which tells me that it did its job. It prevented my neck and spine from being compressed and spread the energy to my shoulders.

I am recommending that you guys all get one before you come out. It will be the best money you will spend. If you can’t tell, I am totally behind the product. It KICKS ASS! I hope you enjoy the photos. You will notice that I ripped my CRF decal in the crash…oh well all part of the fun. I will try to get more photos on the trail next time.”

For anyone who’s isn’t paying attention and hasn’t reviewed his bona fides …..Jesse Kimball loves to ride. God-damn are we stoked to have his crazy ass on the team!

I’ve been holed up in my apartment fighting a cold, and have been watching any Netflix movie that has anything to do with the Baja 1000. If you want to experience the race from your armchair, here are some good selections. Dust to Glory is probably the seminal piece on this subject. It gives a great overview of the race, following a number of teams as they battle to win, or just complete the race. Baja Diaries follows one team so it gives more perspective on an individual effort. The others are historical films – show what the race was like without GPS or corporate sponsors.

Dust To Glory

“This action-packed documentary chronicles the infamously treacherous Tecate SCORE Baja 100 road race across Mexico’s Baja Peninsula. In order to capture the race’s true power and the majestic beauty of the desert, 55 cameras and four helicopters were used during filming. Join famous racing names such as Robby Gordon, Mario Andretti, Jimmy Vasser and Mike “Mouse” McCoy for an unforgettable look at one of racing’s most thrilling events.”

Netflix | Amazon

Travis Pastrana: Baja Diaries

“Join 11-time X Games gold medalist Travis Pastrana and his crew as they brave harsh conditions and fierce competitors while they race across 1,000 miles of unforgiving desert in this sports video. Pastrana and Team Nitro — motocross legends Rick Johnson, Andy Grider, Neil Grider and Gregg Godfrey, maverick CEO Gabrielle Mazarollo and truck racer Wade Kelson — take on the famous Mexican off-road race, the Baja 1000, by bike, truck and foot.”

Netflix | Amazon

Baja 1000 Classic

“Wes Brown (grandson of Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Bruce Brown) and his partner, T.J. Barrack, go to the family vault once again and come back with another winner, capturing the second running of one of the most famous off-road races in the world: the Baja 1000. Covering more than 1,000 miles, a cadre of racers — including Larry Berquist and Parnelli Jones — speed across the grueling, unforgivable terrain of the Baja peninsula.”

Netflix | Amazon

On Any Sunday

“Without a doubt the quintessential motorcycle film, acclaimed filmmaker Bruce Brown explores this dizzying and intoxicating world of rugged road riders where cycles hit incredible speeds. Segueing into the grueling excitement of a muddy and murderous motocross race, we then move on to the tortuous mayhem of the Mexican 1000 off-track trial race down the Baja peninsula. It’s an exhilarating experience that puts you in the driver’s seat.”

Netflix | Amazon

If you have any other suggestions, please leave a comment…

Graham “The Ram” Johnson:
Co-founder of the Dukes of Flatbush, GJ was born in 1971 in Birmingham, AL. He later moved to San Francisco and Los Angeles, before attending College in Connecticut and France. He went on to earn his MBA at NYU and has lived in New York ever since.

Graham has competed in over 20 New York Road Runner (NYRR) races including the 2004 and 2005 New York Marathon, and the 2005 New York Road Runners Half-Marathon Grand Prix. To get ready for the 2008 Baja 1000, Graham will continue to run, with plans to complete the 2008 Half-Marathon Grand Prix as well as the 2008 Montauk Lighthouse Triathlon & Relay.

Although Graham enjoys endurance sports, his first love is motorcycles since he got his first one back in 1993 – a 1982 Yamaha Seca. Today he owns a range of bikes and has ridden extensively across the Unites States and Canada. His favorite ride is the Blue Ride Parkway a week or two before the season starts. A winding road with no lights or stop signs, following the crest of a mountain range for 600 miles.

Graham is freaking out about the Baja 1000 as it combines his love of endurance sports with motorcycles. He is also an expert at multi-media production, recently serving as Executive Producer at MTV for all digital properties (mtv.com, etc). He is excited about using those skills to document the race and its preparation – a once in a lifetime experience!

Birch Shambaugh:
Born off the grid in New Hampshire sometime in the early seventies, outdoor pursuits have always been this guy’s first love. Distance running, motorcycles, back country trekking, skiing and surfing are all guiding passions. As a founding member of the Dukes of Flatbush, it’s also safe to say that racing is in his blood. With a grandfather who was a successful early open-wheeled formula car competitor, ice bike racer and engineer, speed and racing have always been a fascination. In his own life he’s generally been drawn to solo pursuits; formative years spent downhill racing, back-country MX, sailing, rock climbing and mountaineering have given way to more motorcycles, surfing, marathoning and the survival race of small business growth.

A partner in a fast-growing NYC IT company, Birch still carves time out of a hectic schedule to train, rebuild & ride motorcycles and travel to remote destinations in pursuit of waves, beautiful riding and new experience. He regularly competes in NY Road Runner events here in the NY Metro area and has been known to travel for races in the North East. Birch’s first motorcycle was his grandmother’s abused 1958 BSA Goldstar Scrambler; his favorite ride is still the Kancamangus Highway in NH. He currently counts a mildly tricked out 1978 Kawasaki KZ1000 the star of his stable of basket-cases.

While past years have seen him spearheading training & fund raising efforts for DOFB member charity runs in the ING NY Marathon, 2008 opens with all energies directed at DOFB Racing’s push towards the Baja 1000. He’s singularly committed to this lifelong goal and, with the aid & support of friends, professional contacts & partners, wife and company, Birch is convinced that the Dukes of Flatbush bid will be successful, interesting and worthwhile for all involved.

From their purpose-built NY Network Operations Center (NOC), Birch’s company [SpecialAI] will be architecting and supporting the multi-platform communications infrastructure that DOFB Racing’s Baja effort will rely upon.

Jesse Kimball:
Easily the most experienced MX rider on the team, and likely the fittest person to ever don a DOFB T-Shirt, Jesse was born in the fine year of 1976 in Orange County, California where he spent the first few years of his life. He then moved to Park city, Utah where he spent his elementary years skiing. At age 9 he moved back to California and by age 11 was racing with his father in triathlons and mountain bike races. Jesse ran cross country and track and field at Temecula Valley High School and continued for 5 more years of cross country at the University of California, Irvine.

Running always served as a great base, however it was never his passion. Jesse’s true passion had two wheels. Whether on the rode or in the dirt, Jesse loved riding and racing bikes…peddle bikes. Then in the summer of 2000 Jesse’s father bought him his first dirt bike. It was “Love at First Ride.” With years of bicycle experience under his belt, Jesse felt very natural on the motorcycle.

He kept his riding at a very recreational pace from 2000 to 2006, until one of his best friends invited him on a 3 day ride through the Colorado Rockies. It was an amazing experience that introduced Jesse to a whole new level of rider and made him realize how much he really didn’t now about the sport of motocross. From that point to present Jesse has been dedicated to improving his motocross skills and stepping up all levels of his riding, pushing himself ever harder to acquire and hone the skills needed to race motocross.
Some of Jesse’s Significant Races (Triathlon, Adventure Race, Mountain Bike):

2007 World Team Challenge Nice, France
2007 BG US Challenge Pocono Mountains
2007 Wulong Mountain Quest, China
2007 Saint George Triathlon
2007 Temecula Triathlon
2005 Desert Rampage MTB Race
2005 Cholla Challenge MTB Race
2004 MSOQ Borneo, Malaysia
2002 Hi-Tec Adventure Race Series National Champ (8 Races)
2001 Hi-Tec Adventure Race (2 Races)
2001 Desert Dash, Las Vegas
2000 Catalina Triathlon
2000 Ironman California
2000 Walk About Adventure Race #2
1999 XTERRA Bonelli Park
1999 Walk About Adventure Race #1
1999 Hi-Tec Adventure Race, Sacramento
1999 Catalina Adventure Race
1988-1998 Countless Number of Triathlons and Mountain Bike Races

Jon “9″ Goodrich:
Born and raised in New York, Jon is a true a true motor-head. The son of a car dealer, Jon was always fascinated with cars, motorcycles and boats. Growing up, he spent most of his free-time playing in junkyards, shops and showrooms. Before he could see over the wheel, he was already crashing cars at a local junkyard, where he pretty much had run of the place. At age 15, he got his first car, a 72′ Chevy Nova short block. He has since owned more than 50 different cars, including a VW Vanagon, BMW 2002, BMW 328, Mercedes 300SD, Jaguar XK-8, Fiat 2000 spider and his prized 1989 Porsche 911 Targa.

Growing up, Jon was also no stranger to motorcycles. Even before he could drive, he had a bike. His first motorcycle was a red. Clearly his persuasive nature and “go-to-dad-first” approach worked well, as he later progressed to a Kawasaki KX80 and before long a Suzuki LT-250R Quad Racer. His love of motocross has taken him to some great east coast riding locations including the Pine Barons in New Jersey and Stewart Air-force Base in upstate New York. Jon also has owned a Honda Hurricane 1000 and a Ducati 916.

Jon is an avid club racer, participating in local club and SCCA events throughout the country. He has raced on Sebring, Moroso, Homestead and Limerock, both in his Porsche 911 and in race-preppared cars generously provided by friends and colleagues. Jon has also attended Skip Barber Racing School and Justin Bell Racing School and is a die-hard Formula 1 fan.

In 2005, Jon participated in the world-famous Gumball 3000 Rally in the now infamous Polizei BMW M5. That year, known to be one of the rally’s best, took him from London to Monaco, through 12 countries in Europe in 8 days, including an overnight ferry from Croatia to Sicily and along the world-famous Mille Miglia route up the boot to Monaco.

This past September, Jon also participated in Player’s Run, another celebrity rally, dubbed the worlds most glamor poker run. Armed with an Aston Martin Vantage V8, and a supermodel co-pilot, Jon was consistently fastest and among the top three to every checkpoint from Calgary to San Diego. All without a single traffic infraction.

His love for all thing motorized led him to join the Dukes of Flatbush Racing Team in preparation for the 2008 Baja 1000. The Baja represents the culmination of a life spent loving and living racing.

In his civilian life, Jon lives and works in New York as a commercial photo agent for a well known agency

Rider Communication

We’ll be riding a modified Honda CRF 450X motorcycle so we need to use a portable radio that can be handed off at driver changes.

We’ll then adapt the radio to the particular demands of off-road racing. Since it’s a race, the driver must be able to ride and talk at the same time. This requires a ‘push to talk’ button that can be mounted on a motorcycle handlebar, and a helmet wiring kit with mouthpiece and headphones:

The primary function of this set-up is to allow communication with the pits. A lot can go wrong out on the course and if you need anything other that fuel at your next pit stop, it’s best to let them know in advance. That way a new wheel, light, air filter, etc. can be waiting for you when you pull-in – keeping pit time to a minimum. This radio will be set to JCR Pit frequency, the outfit providing the Dukes pit service during the 2008 Baja 1000.

The second function of the radio is preparedness for an emergency situation. In case of a medical emergency, the driver will primarily rely upon a SPOT Satellite Messenger, a device that can send an emergency message along with exact GPS coordinates to your support crew. The support crew would then head to your location while contacting Weatherman, BFG relay, SCORE Ops (Operations) and onto SCORE Medical (Emergency Medical Services). If for some reason SPOT failed, a driver would turn to his portable radio. The radios aren’t that powerful so he’d try to contact the Weatherman, then BFG Relay – if both failed, he’d try and find a passing rider. There is a good article on this chain of command.

For those of you who don’t know about the Weatherman, he’s a legendary figure in the Baja 1000. He volunteers each year, setting up a radio outpost on top of a windy mountaintop. He becomes the central relay point for all communications during the race. Everyone involved in the Baja 1000 should know the proper way to relay communication to the Weatherman.

Support Communication

At this point, it’s unclear how many chase vehicles we’ll need for the race, but each one will require a radio. The primary chase vehicle will be a Toyota FJ Cruiser equipped with a Kenwood TM-D710A, or something similar:

The advantages of this radio are sheer power and the ability to monitor two separate frequencies.This allows support to simultaneously monitor the JCR Pit and Weatherman channels, allowing support to keep abreast of their team as well as the race.

It will be critical to program all race radios with important channels. Here’s a list from a Baja 1000 a few years back:

Honda of Riverhead, NY

Honda CRF45O – All Dressed Up and Nowhere To Go

ENGINE

Engine Type 449cc liquid-cooled single-cylinder Unicam four-stroke
Bore and Stroke 96.0 x 62.1mm
Compression Ratio 12.0:1
Induction 40.0mm Keihin© flat-slide
Ignition CD

DRIVE TRAIN

Transmission Wide-ratio five-speed
Final Drive #520 T-ring-sealed chain; 13T/51T

CHASSIS / SUSPENSION / BRAKES

Front Suspension 47.0mm inverted Showa® cartridge fork with 16-position rebound and 16-position compression damping adjustability; 12.4-inch travel
Rear Suspension Pro-Link® Showa single-shock with spring preload, 13-position [low-speed] and 3.5-turn [high-speed] compression damping and 17-position rebound damping adjustability; 12.4-inch travel
Front Brakes Single-disc with twin-piston caliper
Rear Brakes Single-disc
Front Tire 80/100-21
Rear Tire 110/100-18

DIMENSIONS

Rake 27.05 degrees
Trail 115 mm (4.5 inches)
Wheelbase 58.2 inches
Seat Height 37.9 inches
Ground Clearance 13.6 inches
Curb Weight 269 lbs (Includes all standard equipment, required fluids and a full tank of fuel-ready to ride)
Fuel Capacity 1.9 gallons

OTHER

Available Colors Red
Model ID CRF450X

The more I learn about these bikes, the more stoked I am to get riding. These things are supposed to be pretty damned mean machines stock and, as with any single cylinder four stroke, they’re bound to be particularly sensitive to adjustments. The modification process should be very rewarding.

Before the race, SCORE distributes the GPS waypoints to all contestants. These waypoints are essentially pins that mark the course on a map, each pin stuck in every 5 miles or so. These are the waypoints for the 2007 Baja 1000.

We will pre-run the course to become familiar with it, but you can always get turned around, especially at night and in fog. Trust the GPS – it will bring you home. We will add waypoints for the JCR Honda pits as well as any hazards we discover during pre-run. The GPS also serves other functions – it can tell you fuel consumption and your speed.

Speed is important because there are short sections of the race that occur on pavement. If you exceed 60mph, you get a time penalty.

One last thing which is superfluous, but fun is that you can customize the start-up screen. I added the Dukes of Flatbush logo to ours.

And to echo the last post, we’d certainly appreciate a back-up for the pre-run bike. Garmin?

Class 22: 250cc or more.
Class 21: 126cc to 250cc.
Class 20: 125cc or smaller two-stroke and 250cc or smaller four-stroke motorcycles.
Class 30: Riders over 30 years old.
Class 40: Riders over 40 years old.
Class 50: Riders over 50 years old.
Class 60: Riders over 60 years old.
Sportsman Motorcycle under 250cc
Sportsman Motorcycle over 250cc

The Dukes of Flatbush team consists of 4 riders in their 30′s riding a 450cc motorcycle. That means we can enter Class 22, Class 30 or Sportsman Motorcycle over 250cc. What to choose?

If we were trying to win a class, we’d race either Class 30 or Sportsman Motorcycle over 250cc. Those classes are considerably less competitive than Class 22. Class 22 is the ‘open’ class where the top professionals run. Our goal isn’t to win a class since it’s our first year- we just want to finish safely. With this goal in mind, we don’t care which class were in, we just want to get off the start line as early as possible. The reasons are simple – you get more daylight and you get more time on the course before the trophy trucks begin their high speed assault.

Class 22 is the first Class to start the race. Class 30 follows later. Sportsman Motorcycle over 250cc later. To put this in perspective, the start time difference between a Class 22 bike and a Sportsman bike could be as much as one hour. That’s one more hour of daylight, that’s one more hour to put distance between our bike and the trophy trucks. Class 22 is the best option for the Dukes of Flatbush team. The registration fee is higher, but depending on the lottery, we could start the 2008 Baja 1000. We better work on our wheelies…

The conversation did put me in mind of something funny from my childhood though. I remember a crotchety old Scout Master that I had cooking a small bear roast on the block of his 70′s F-150 while we were out competing in a winter derby of some sort. Yeah, yeah; I grew up in the hick-ish northlands where bear roasts, winter sled dog races and 70′s F-150s were pretty much the norm. But that’s not the point…what’s important to note here is that it is more than possible, if a little rural gangster, to cook a delicious meal on the top of your engine.

The Dukes are always as interested in unusual cooking techniques as we are in motorsports, beer etc. So, should we find ourselves unharmed, but deep in the desert with some ‘unexpected’ meat around, Mexican steaks can be cooked on a support truck’s engine block. Just sayin’.

In the interest of education, I provide the following guidelines:
* Prepare the food as if it were going into your oven
* Double-wrap securely in foil
* Identify your cooking surface. Usually the exhaust manifold is best, but warm up the engine, then shut it off and check for hot-spots.
* Make sure your food will fit snuggly in the cooking spot with the hood closed (test with a crumpled ball of foil approximately the same height.
* Cooking on the engine is essentially the same as braising and will take longer than a standard oven and shorter than a stockpot.
* Drive till it’s dine-time. Note: this is dependent on flat driving surface that will not upset the deliciousness secreted under your hood. Baja will require a stationary vehicle for cooking applications, lest we wind up with roast beast all over the engine block.

Sample barbecue approximate cooking times:

* Shrimp: 30-50 miles
* Trout or Salmon: 60-100 miles
* Chicken breasts: 60 miles at 65 mph
* Chicken wings: 140-200 miles
* Pork tenderloin: 250 miles
* Sliced, peeled potatoes: 55 miles

especially enterprising regular block cooker

One of the requirements for this service is that your bike have a dry break receiver on the fuel tank. This wasn’t something that I was familiar with, but it’s pretty straightforward. The racing fuel is placed in ‘dump cans’ that allow for a quick and safe re-fueling at an amazing rate (a few seconds). These dump cans connects to your tank via a dry break receiver. A Honda CRF450x comes with a stock 1.9 gallon tank with screw cap – this will be replaced with an after-market tank that has a larger capacity and the necessary receiver.

Dry Break Receiver

Dump Can Connected to Dry Break Receiver

Precision Concepts Suspension front and rear
Scotts Sub Mount Steering Stabilizer
Pro Taper Handle Bars
Acerbis Rally Hand Guards
Baja Designs Stator rewinding and Voltage Regulator
Air Box cut-outs
Pink wire at ECU changed
Honda Jetting
Gearing 15-47
Emissions removed and blocked off
Engine Case Saver
Stainless Steel Foot pegs
Upgraded Plastics
Braided Rear Brake Line
Scotts Shark Fin
Complete Pro Circuit Titanium Exhaust System
Eline Carbon Fiber Skid Plate
ERV3 O-ring chain with no master link
Pro Circuit Clutch Cover
R style front axle
XR’s Only quick change wheel spacers
JAGG Oil Cooler
Works Connection radiator braces
Baja Designs Quick Change 8″ Light Package
IMS 3.2 gallon Dry Break Fuel Tank
PWR Stage III Cooling System

This years Paris to Dakar rally was canceled due to the offing of French tourists in Africa and potential threats to competitors. Sad commentary on the volatile nature of that part of the world; I think it would have been the 30th running of the famous rally. Hopefully the scenario will play itself out and next year they’ll return to running across the desert at high speeds. In the meantime it remains to be seen what impact this will have on the 2008 Baja 1000, but it seems safe to surmise a corresponding up-tick in competition and interest in this year’s Mexican desert fiesta. Time will tell and DOFB efforts are careening along toward finding out for ourselves.

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/04012008/58/dakar-2008-dakar-cancelled-security.html

Looking ever onward, 2008 looms large and Baja preparations are in full swing. It looks like we have the riding team pretty much set and in the coming weeks there’ll formal announcements on the team, equipment package(s), pit/support strategy and evolving sponsorship and partnering relationships. All in all – it’s already beginning to feel like 10 months isn’t going to leave a whole lot of time for anything but work and preparation for the race.

For those who have been keeping up with the evolution of DOFB and our various exploits – we wish you the safe and relaxing close to 2007 and look forward to prosperity and great deeds in the coming year; cheers!

There is, however, a larger issue to be solved. Command and Control. How does a team, potentially comprised of one race bike, as many as four chase vehicles, and a fixed-location Command and Control center, stay in constant communication with one another?

Effective real time communication, the ability to relay accurate and timely information between all parties, lies at the heart of logistical success or failure for an effort like this. Cellular and Satellite phones are not a realistic solution; cell service is non-existent and there are is a finite amount of Sat. spectrum bandwidth available to support a drastically increased regional user population during race week.

The Dukes Baja 1000 team, in conjunction with our systems partner SpecialAI, are currently investigating a number of promising avenues for solving this problem. SpecialAI are experts at engineering flexible communications systems and have serious experience with mobile, survivable and platform integrated solutions engineered around the Asterisk Open Source IP PBX. Currently, the most promising area of focus involves deploying some manner of AVRS (Automatic Voice Relay System) interfaced with Asterisk.

This solution would likely mate a vehicle based APRS (Automatic Packet Reporting System) web with an IRLP (Internet radio Linking Project) gateway, thus allowing for the rapid & reliable exchange of rich information, via commonly available relayed radio transmission, with a centrally (local) deployed IP soft switch. The goal is to provide a head’s up view of all elements and translate that information, via VoIP codec, for transmission back to NYC based mission control.

Obviously this is a very rough sketch; experience dictates that the final system will, in all likelihood, bear only passing resemblance to what we’re thinking about now. There are countless variables yet to be nailed down, but It’s an exciting project and we’ve every confidence that we’ll be able to deploy a system which will give the Dukes of Flatbush a greater chance of safe success in a harsh operating environment.

• heavy-duty ballistic nylon
• compression pack expands to fit gear
• padded pocket for spare goggles and electronics (SPOT, radio)
• tool pocket
• shoulder harness, waistbelt
• 100 oz (3 liter) capacity

In all, it seems like the ticket. I’ll be testing all of this gear in a motorcycle trip across Baja in March so I’ll let everyone know how it holds up.

Camelbak Havoc Hydration System

WARN Off-Road Winch Bumper

Honda CRF450x

Honda CRF450x Action Shot #1

Honda CRF450x Action Shot #2

Honda CRF450x Action Shot #3

The unit has three primary functions: Check-in, Help and 911. Each command automatically sends your contacts an SMS text message including GPS coordinates, or an email with a link to Google Maps showing your exact location. Check-in lets everyone know that things are OK, help indicates a mechanical issue and 911 a medical emergency.The 911 command leverages a GEOS International Emergency Response Center that notifies the appropriate emergency responders based on your location and personal information – which may include police, our country’s embassy or consulate, or other emergency response or search and rescue teams – as well as notifying your emergency contact person(s) about the receipt of a distress signal.

SPOT also acquires and sends your GPS coordinates to your account every 10 minutes. This information can be ported to Google Maps so everyone with access to the Internet can keep up with our progress. Ideally, we’d be able to port this information to the GPS units in our chase cars. Our good friends at Special AI have expertise in the specialized area of communications so we’ll see what we can sort out. We’ll give updates as we experiment over the coming months.

SPOT: Satellite Messenger

SPOT: How It Works

Preparations have begun in earnest even though the race is 11 months away. Graham has arranged a trip to ride all of Baja from March 25-31 with Chris Haines so he can do recon for the team. Two race-prepped Honda CRF450x motorcycles will be acquired in the Spring to kick off training efforts. Keep checking DOFB.com for updates as we prepare for the mother of all races.

2007 Baja 1000 GPS Waypoints

Sal Fish (SCORE President / Race Organizer) and Honda A Team